India, Aug. 16 -- Are school days really the best days of one's life? It would be sad if that were true. In my case, it would mean that after leaving Doon at 16, my life has irreversibly deteriorated. On the other hand, we all look back on school through rose-tinted memories. And the older we get the more hallowed they become.

This is a question that has been uppermost in my mind of late. Honestly, I'm not sure why. But it's possibly because my great nephew, Faris, and his little sister, Ayla, have started school and seem to enjoy it enormously. Ayla is at her most cheerful in the morning when its time to leave for school.

The truth is that for none of us was school an unalloyed collection of happy joyous moments. There were also terrib...